- 14 minutes ago
Kevin Sheehan pushes back against the mounting Commanders fans pressure calling for the firing of general manager Adam Peters, urging listeners to resist impulsive overreactions and examine Peters' full body of work in context—from the 12-5 breakthrough in 2024 to the injury-marred 2025 campaign and the extensive 2026 defensive rebuild.
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00:00My overall issue with the whole Adam Peters discussion is that most of you who want them fired like ASAP
00:12after last season and this season were the same people that in 2024 and even in the offseason of 2025,
00:24so just over a year ago, were screaming at every chance and on every corner you could, let Adam cook.
00:34It's just so impulsive. It's too impulsive for me. The emotional part I get, I get.
00:41But, you know, letting the emotions start the war and it happens usually isn't the best of ideas.
00:49Because letting impulsiveness, you know, lead to, you know, shooting people, firing people without solutions typically isn't the way you
00:58run a business.
01:00Adam Peters and Dan Quinn, for that matter, have been here since January of 2024.
01:08They've had two full seasons and so far six games in a third season.
01:14And in the only season in which they had their starting quarterback for the majority of games, and they had
01:22them actually for every game,
01:24and they had relative health across the board, they won 12, they lost five in the regular season,
01:32then they went on the road and won two playoff games before losing to a much better football team,
01:38the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game, but an Eagles team that had been over the final, you know,
01:47third of the season into the postseason, one of the best defensive teams we had seen in recent memory.
01:53And Washington was the only team, including the Kansas City Chiefs, that consistently moved the ball against the Eagles and
02:00scored points.
02:01They were down 11 with the ball and moving, if you recall, in the third quarter in that game.
02:07It was not over.
02:08I've always said about that game, 55-23, the final score was not necessarily reflective of the game itself.
02:17The game itself was closer than that.
02:19Not close enough that Washington could have won the game.
02:23No, Philadelphia could have probably named their number because Washington's defense was so porous at that point,
02:29especially against the run, but the game was not necessarily a 55-23 game.
02:35It was 34-23.
02:37Washington was on the move and they turned the ball over when they had a chance and they moved it
02:43every time they had it.
02:44They just ended up turning the ball over too much, which is something they hadn't done all year.
02:48But again, back to Peters.
02:51I actually, my gut tells me Adam Peters knows what he's doing.
02:56He's professional.
02:57He's competent.
02:58I don't know where he's going to rank among all GMs, but I think it's way too early to rank
03:05him.
03:05And the reason for that is last year is a toss-out year for me.
03:1199% of teams that suffer the number of injuries to their best players are done.
03:18They're doomed in the NFL.
03:19You can find a couple of examples, a couple of examples where teams fought on and had success.
03:26But the massive majority, maybe it's not 99%, but it's 9 out of 10.
03:32Teams that suffer what they suffered last year don't win more games than they lose.
03:37And this year, I'm not pleased with the results, and there's context to this year too, which includes some real
03:44negatives for the head coach.
03:47Two massive in-game blunders.
03:49One that cost them, Dan Quinn's decision to run another play in overtime against the Giants was the root cause
04:00for the tie rather than a win.
04:05The reaction that he had to the error the quarterback made in the second quarter against the 49ers was probably
04:13not the difference between win and loss.
04:15It could have been.
04:16But the 49ers were the better team on that Monday night.
04:20But there are two moments that are alarming moments and are unacceptable for a head coach.
04:31It doesn't erase the fact that last year he didn't have any of his good players.
04:35That's why they went 5-12 more than anything else.
04:38It doesn't erase the fact that Jaden's only played in 3.5 of the 6.
04:43And maybe if he had played in all 6, the record would be much better.
04:46It might be 3-3.
04:47They may have beaten Dallas.
04:48They may have beaten Indy.
04:50You know, they may have.
04:51Those are possibilities.
04:53Maybe, you know, he's not as tentative with the brace early on against the Giants or whatever.
04:58I mean, he didn't look tentative at all against the Giants.
05:00But Adam Peters has not, at this point in the draft, you can start to truly assess it's not a
05:09good look.
05:10That's the worst part so far of Adam Peters.
05:12The 20-24 draft.
05:14Along with the Lattimore trade.
05:17Which, again, we've talked about this.
05:19We've been down this road a lot.
05:21I, personally, and I know many of you, in the moment, applauded it.
05:28In the moment.
05:29We applauded it.
05:31Because it wasn't a rental.
05:32He had another full year on his contract after this year.
05:37After that remaining 20-24 year.
05:40But the Lattimore trade.
05:42And, to me, the kicker situation.
05:45Those are the situations that I actually think are the biggest.
05:49And the 20-24 draft, at this point.
05:52Those are the negatives.
05:54The positives are Jaden Daniels.
05:58And you can argue Drake May.
06:00They didn't have a shot at Caleb Williams.
06:02I guess you could now start to argue Michael Penix Jr.
06:06To a certain degree.
06:07But he's injured a lot.
06:10But I think they got themselves an elite-level quarterback.
06:14And in that particular year, they went 12-5.
06:19Mostly because of Jaden.
06:20But you can't tell me that two all-pro defensive players, Lou Vu and Wagner, didn't help.
06:27You can't tell me that Zach Ertz wasn't a positive in 2024.
06:32Austin Eckler.
06:32Tyler Biotish.
06:33Dorrance Armstrong.
06:35Zaccheaus.
06:36Fowler Jr.
06:37Some of the special teamers like Belor and McNichols.
06:43Hell, Marcus Mariota as a backup came in in relief.
06:46And played well in the game that Jaden got injured against Carolina.
06:50You know, you had the Dotson trade.
06:52That was a lead Adam Cook.
06:54And you know what?
06:55It turned out to be right.
06:56You had Jeremy Chin play at a high level that year.
07:01You know, in 2025, you're going to tell me, yes, it sucks that Tunsell is out for the year for
07:07the most part.
07:08But Tunsell played at a ridiculously high level last year.
07:12That was an investment in the offensive line.
07:15Josh Connerly, a first-round pick.
07:17When we were all thinking receiver.
07:20Offensive line.
07:21Kinlaw was a good ad.
07:23Hell, Debo was a good ad.
07:26And, it's way too early.
07:29I'm not going to be definitive about the 2025 draft to the 2026 draft.
07:35But like the 2024 draft early, it looks promising.
07:40Connerly, Amos, you know, even Bill and Medrano and Jalen Lane look promising.
07:47Sonny Stiles and Antonio Williams look promising.
07:52We'll see.
07:53They could turn the same way Sanristill did.
07:56From, oh my God, let Adam Cook.
07:59He fleeced Howie Roseman.
08:01Trading back.
08:02Able to take Sanristill and Sinnott.
08:05And now, you know, Adam's on the hottest of seats.
08:09He was cooking, you know, literally about a year and a half ago, he was cooking.
08:14And now, you want him cooked.
08:17I'm not as impulsive when it comes to that.
08:20That isn't the question, though.
08:22The question is, buyers or sellers at the trade deadline?
08:27That was the topic, correct?
08:29Yes.
08:31Matt.
08:32Matt, go ahead and thanks for holding.
08:36I have a first time calling.
08:38I want to say real quick that you and Cooley first got me into sports radio back during the RG3
08:42saga.
08:43So, I've always loved the show.
08:45Thanks.
08:46And also, it's your fault for my ruined productivity at work some days.
08:50Absolutely not my fault.
08:52I'm the victim.
08:53Yeah.
08:54Well, there's context on everything.
08:56Just explain to your boss why.
08:58Yeah, exactly.
09:00Okay.
09:00So, for me, leaning by the deadline, just because as a fan and only being 38, I've only really ever
09:06seen losing seasons, other than a few exceptions.
09:08So, it would be nice to just not have to punt on the season, not even halfway through.
09:13That would definitely suck.
09:15But just trying to think of it from what we've learned from Peter so far is that he's definitely comfortable
09:20doing both.
09:21If he thinks the value is reasonable and that it fills a current need.
09:26So, I don't see him buying rentals.
09:28But if there's, you know, a need to fill with someone with some good term left that would –
09:36You mean like Jonathan Taylor?
09:37Or someone that, you know, would – yes, thank you.
09:40One of my two examples.
09:42Or, you know, someone that they intend on signing a longer deal with.
09:45I can see that being a thing.
09:46And so, if any is fire selling, I'm not saying that they are, but if they are.
09:50And Jonathan Taylor's available or a soft gardener.
09:53At first, I was going to say Alex Pierce, but he's still not healthy.
09:56He's not healthy.
09:57I mean, they spent all that money on Alex Pierce, and they expected a big return right away.
10:02And he has – has he even played?
10:04I don't even think he's played.
10:05No.
10:06Yeah.
10:06I don't think he has.
10:07Yeah.
10:08And I just know that they were interested in him before.
10:10So, if he wasn't interested, I'm sure would have been on the table.
10:13But, anyway, so just trying to think from AP's standpoint, I actually had a question for you,
10:18and then I'll take it off the air.
10:20But do you think selling hard at the deadline would be any kind of admittal that they didn't do enough
10:25in the offseason to build a winner?
10:27Say that again.
10:29Do you think by AP, selling hard at the deadline would be any kind of admittal to not doing enough
10:36in the offseason to build a winner?
10:39And especially after, like, some of the bad optics of, like, essentially telling fans that we didn't know
10:43what we were talking about with the center position and some of the other things.
10:46Look, the center position is a completely justifiable conversation from a fan standpoint.
10:52To say that he didn't do enough when they added the most players in free agency than any team in
10:59the league
11:00and spent the third most amount of money than any team in the league,
11:05and the number one priority heading into the offseason was to fix the defense.
11:10They hired a new coordinator, and they added 11 new bodies, all of whom were expected to and have contributed.
11:21That, to me, is there's a disconnect there.
11:26I can't get with that Adam Peters wasn't active enough or didn't do enough in the offseason.
11:31You know, sometimes, too, and I think this is really something I've emphasized in the past,
11:37and I even have to remind myself of it, sometimes they want to do things.
11:43They want to spend more money.
11:45They want to add another interior offensive lineman or center or receiver,
11:50and the opportunities aren't there because, A, they don't think the player's worth the money,
11:56or, B, the player decides he's going to go somewhere else.
12:00The players have choices.
12:01I think that this past season there were centers in this draft that, you know,
12:08could have been explored, potentially traded up for in certain rounds,
12:14like the fourth round or the fifth round, but I like the Antonio Williams selection.
12:18I like the Joshua Josephs addition.
12:22Josephs is the one.
12:23You could have taken that fifth and packaged it with something else to get up to the third
12:27or get up to the fourth to take one of those centers that people really believed in this year.
12:32You know, I think that's going to be an area in which they look back and say,
12:36we're okay with Biotish walking for a lot of reasons that I think even we don't know,
12:42but to put all of our eggs into the Linderbaum slash Plan B Allegretti basket
12:49was probably not the best move, but they did try for Pierce.
12:55They did try for Dobbs.
12:56There were attempts for some of the positions that they ended up not filling,
13:00but they filled a lot.
13:03The whole defense is brand new.
13:05It's brand new across the board, and we've seen that in the way of contributions this year.
13:12Obviously, Stiles being the biggest, and he came via the draft, but, you know,
13:18we're seeing Chason be a factor.
13:21We're seeing, you know, Kinlaw – not Kinlaw.
13:24We're seeing – where's my list?
13:27Chason.
13:28Cross, obviously.
13:29Amik Robertson has been an absolute plus-plus ad.
13:32Settle's been a plus ad, you know, defensively.
13:36So, yeah, it's hard for me to say Adam didn't do enough
13:44or, more importantly, wasn't active enough.
13:48He was active, as active as anybody in the league in free agency.
13:55Jay, Jay, go ahead.
14:01Jay, you're on.
14:02What's up?
14:03How are you?
14:04I'm doing well.
14:06You just seem to be very optimistic with this – with our staff.
14:13I do not get it.
14:15I hear the reason.
14:17I don't think I said very optimistic at all.
14:20That's your interpretation.
14:22Yes, that is my interpretation of all the information that you're giving us.
14:26So, let me be clear on this.
14:29Adam Peters hasn't done enough for me to think that they should fire him.
14:35Dan Quinn, because of the two major errors, along with just my sense right now
14:42that he's a bit overwhelmed, deserves to be on the hottest of hot seats.
14:47That's my position on both.
14:48That's my position on both.
14:49I don't think I've been vague or unclear about that, but obviously you think I have been.
14:55But those are my positions on both.
14:57I would not fire Peters at this point, but Quinn, to me, better win seven or eight of the final
15:0311,
15:04or they're in search for a new coach in 2027.
15:07Yeah, definitely.
15:09I just think –
15:11Why did I give off the impression that I was either pro-Quinn or absolutely all-in on Adam Peters?
15:20Adam Peters, I'm still – I'm just not ready to fire yet.
15:24Yeah.
15:25All right.
15:26Well, I'll answer that, and then I'll go on to answer the question.
15:30I just – it just – obviously they haven't done enough.
15:35You say we went out and we tried to upgrade the team.
15:40We did not.
15:41In certain positions, we didn't get the players that we wanted.
15:44We did try.
15:45Yep.
15:45You cannot debate that they didn't try.
15:48They added more new players than any team in the NFL.
15:52They spent the third most money in free agency.
15:55But not the right players.
15:57It's looking like it's not the right players.
15:58Well, okay, we'll see.
15:59They've played six games so far.
16:01And they – I mean, except for the rain game and Landover against Seattle, which, like, it was a good
16:09game.
16:10The rain game.
16:11That's a good – that's a good new title for the game.
16:13Is that why you think they won?
16:15Because of the rain?
16:16Yes, I do.
16:17Okay.
16:17I do.
16:18I love that.
16:18Seattle was just a step slower, and our offense were able to get to spots, you know what I mean?
16:23The Seattle game, a.k.a. the rain game.
16:26Got it.
16:27The rain game.
16:28Yeah.
16:29Seattle plays in the rain basically every week in the Pacific Northwest.
16:33Yeah.
16:34Not every week.
16:35Come on.
16:35But no.
16:36I would – I bet you Seattle leads the league in rain games every year.
16:42Okay.
16:42Well, they can lead that.
16:44And we did beat them with our backup quarterback.
16:47Right.
16:48Our roster, if you compare the moves that have been made, the moves that Adam Peters have made, compared to
16:56just in our division, not good enough.
16:59Right?
16:59Okay.
16:59And then –
17:00Give me the examples of the deals.
17:02I mean, give me – do you think anything he's done has worked?
17:06We should have – yes.
17:08We should have paid likely whatever he was asking to get him in D.C.
17:12Not go after the Chicka Conk.
17:14That's one.
17:16Likely is a dude.
17:17All right?
17:18Trey Amos, you love him.
17:20I don't think he's –
17:21I don't love him.
17:21I haven't said that.
17:23You don't?
17:24No, I –
17:24You said it last year when I –
17:26No, I've said that I think that there's great promise.
17:30We've seen him play eight football games.
17:32It's not.
17:33It's not a great promise.
17:34He came back and he couldn't hang with Mike Evans.
17:39But to answer the question, should we be buying ourselves?
17:43Come on.
17:43We should definitely be buyers.
17:48We should not be selling anything on our team.
17:51Nobody wants anybody on our squad.
17:53Do you trust Adam Peters to buy after what you've said?
17:58We've got to do something.
18:00Well, wait a minute.
18:01You just said he can't pick out, you know, a player for –
18:07He can't.
18:07So why do you want him buying?
18:09You should want him fired and somebody else to do the buying next year.
18:13Well, he can't sell either.
18:14He can't sell either.
18:16Everybody say we fleeced the Eagles for two more picks.
18:20They got a starter.
18:21I didn't say that.
18:22I didn't say that.
18:23You just said –
18:24You said we –
18:25Oh, all right.
18:26The perception was that we fleeced the Eagles.
18:28Yes.
18:29Let Adam cook.
18:30Let Adam cook.
18:31That's what everybody said.
18:33I didn't say that.
18:34I was a big Cooper DeGene fan in that draft.
18:37We can let him cook until he's gone.
18:40He has not done good enough.
18:43He might burn down the house as far as you're concerned.
18:47Yeah, and he might.
18:48And then Josh Harris will have to start over again.
18:51Okay.
18:51But Adam Peters, if you just compare him to other GMs, he's not doing a good enough job.
18:58If you know we have an injury problem, our backups and the depth should definitely be there.
19:03He gutted this team just to say he made moves when he first came here.
19:08Right?
19:09Right?
19:10No.
19:10I think Chase Young should still be on the team.
19:12The team needed to be gutted.
19:14He changed the roster by a third to 40%, nearly two-fifths.
19:18Then we needed to change the head coach.
19:20We did both of those things, and now we're sitting at one, four, or five, and one.
19:26It's not good enough.
19:27Yeah, one, four, and one.
19:27We had to pick Dan Quinn, and if you hired Dan Quinn, he should be calling the plays.
19:30Actually, they had a committee that picked Dan Quinn.
19:32Yeah.
19:33Bob Myers.
19:33That's even worse.
19:35Rick.
19:35We had a committee of basketball gurus to help pick a head coach.
19:40So, look, I'm not saying that you haven't made a case against Adam Peters.
19:47I don't think it's a great case, but I just think that you are majorly contradicting yourself
19:53by saying, he sucks, but I'm okay with him being a buyer at the trade deadline.
20:00Because we don't – who else – what are we going to do?
20:03Just sit here and say, all right, our team does not need any upgrades?
20:06He waited for Russell Douglas to take care of him.
20:10If you were the owner, you could bail on him,
20:12and you could start selling and accumulating draft picks for the next guy.
20:17If that happens, I'm sure people will buy players from our team, right,
20:22and they will become starters.
20:24Wait, hold on.
20:25Another contradiction.
20:27So, the players that we have are good enough to start in other places,
20:33not here, but that's an Adam Peters problem.
20:36That would be a coaching problem, wouldn't it be?
20:38They might.
20:39They might.
20:40Well, it's an organizational problem when you fire Cliff Kingsbury one year in
20:45to say, yeah, we're going to do right by Jaden.
20:48And, like, the organization does not have a end goal, or if they have an end goal,
20:53they don't have that yellow big road of how to get there, right?
20:57Like, we've got to start asking questions to these people that are making these moves.
21:01Our roster is not good enough.
21:03The backups on our roster is not good enough.
21:06Those are the two things that you've been consistent with that I agree with.
21:11I totally agree with.
21:13Okay, so you saying give Adam Peters two more years, three more years.
21:18I didn't put a timeline on anything.
21:21Stop putting words into my mouth.
21:23I didn't give them any timeline.
21:24I just said I would have a hard time considering Adam Peters to be on the hottest of hot seats
21:32when he's been here for two seasons and six games into the third,
21:38and the only season in which his players, coached by his coach or the committee's coach,
21:45when they were completely healthy, they went 12-5 and won two road playoff games.
21:50Now, that's not going to last forever.
21:53You know, another injury-plagued season this year that ends up 5-12 is 2024 at some point stops buying
22:02you.
22:02It stops being credits that you can use towards the future.
22:06But all I'm saying is it is a fact that of the two full seasons that have been played,
22:12the one in which they were fully healthy, they went to the NFC Championship game,
22:17and the one in which they were completely decimated by injuries, they went 5-12.
22:23And so far this year, it doesn't look good.
22:25And you're right.
22:26The roster isn't good enough.
22:28Not yet.
22:29The backups, the depth isn't good enough.
22:31Not yet.
22:32But I disagree with what you've sort of implied and others have said,
22:38which is it's from a lack of trying.
22:41They added the most players and spent the third most amount of money.
22:45We will find out after they play a full season if they got the players right or wrong.
22:50To be honest with you, I think defensively, they are a better football team than they were last year
22:56and maybe a much better football team than they were last year.
23:00And a lot of it has to do with the new players that were added, including, in the draft, Sonny
23:07Styles.
23:09But Calevon Chason, Amik Robertson, some of the other players they have added to this roster
23:15have contributed to a defense that is not a sieve like it was last year.
23:20And I think there's encouraging signs that it could continue to improve.
23:27I'm just not ready to fire Adam Peters.
23:29That's it.
23:29I'm not ready to give him a contract extension.
23:31I'm not ready to anoint him as one of the best GMs in the game.
23:35You know, just because I'm not ready to fire him doesn't mean that I think he's great.
23:41He's had, for me, more pros than cons.
23:45The list is long because they've made a lot of moves.
23:48There were a lot of moves in 24.
23:50There were a lot of moves in 25 and even more in 26.
23:54So I add him up and I see at least more pros than cons right now.
23:59And I see context around 2025 in particular.
24:03So I wouldn't fire him right now.
24:05But there are another 11 games.
24:08There will be a lot more data to evaluate and to look at.
24:12And perhaps I'll be right where you and Kevin and Arlington and others are in two months.
24:17And you can say at that point, man, you were slow to come around.
24:21And you might be right.